Volume 2 Issue 2 - Wallingford Public Schools

The Rockin’ Eagle
The School that Rocks!
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2014
Letters from the Editors-in-Chief
Dear Readers,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a
great holiday vacation. There are many
exciting activities and stories coming up
this year and you can read about them
in the Rockin’ Eagle! We have a page of New Year’s
Resolutions that you should check out. I’m sure that
if you set a resolution that you can achieve your
goals. So get ready for an exciting new year!
Editor in Chief,
Jaime
Welcome back to school! I hope you
all had a great holiday and New Year!
This year is going to be very exciting
and full of new things. What did you
think of the Super Bowl? What a
blowout! Did any of you go to the Variety Show? There were so many acts filled with different talents. It was pretty fun to watch. 2014 will
be filled with many new opportunities and great experiences. A new Book Night Challenge is coming up for
5th graders, and a Science night for the whole school
takes place this month. You could get involved in
some of these activities and you will probably have a
lot of fun. I hope you had a great 2013 and an even
better 2014!
Editor in Chief,
Daniel
Meet a Town Councilman
Above: Riley, Jaime, Mrs. Sullivan, and
Town Councilman Sullivan (Article on page 6)
At Right: Drawing by Julia, grade 4
Special points of interest:

Read Our New Year’s Resolutions!

K Kids Go To College!

Rockin Art! Happenings at Rock Hill!

An Interview with Town Councilman Sullivan!

Sports! Read interviews from Niels Giffey
and Pat DeMaio

Mrs. Valentine Talks with Eagle Staffers

Talking Math with Mrs. Madancy

Pennies For Patients
K Kids Go To College!
By Dori and Emilia, grade 3
Did you know that the KKids went to college on
Wednesday, January
8th? They attended a
leadership conference to
find ways to become better leaders. Ms. Gallagher and Mrs. DiBenedetto brought Nathaniel,
Drawing by Dori, grade 3
Cooper, Tyler, Kayce, Chiara, Kylie, Jaime, Hadley,
Zelia, and us (Emilia and Dori) to this amazing conference. The college is located in Waterbury, CT.
The day started off very early as we had to be at
Pond Hill to get the bus at 7:45 am. When we got
to college, we went to classrooms to learn about
different subjects. Some of the things we discussed bullying and that standing up for other people may be hard but is the right thing to do. We
also learned decision making. This conference gave
us a lot of information and was so much fun!
2
Articles of Interest
Watch for Columns from Jarred and Grace in issues of The Rockin’ Eagle!
The Captain
The Toddler Bed Disaster
By Jarred, grade 5
By Grace, grade 5
The Yankees, Bronx Bombers, or 27
time World Champions...no matter
what you call them, they needed
MANY amazing players to
win. Whether they hit 50 homeruns
a season, threw a perfect game, or managed the
greats...everyone on the teams throughout the
years played a key part of Yankee history. One of
their most well known current players, is Derek
Jeter. After the 2013 season, he has 3,316 hits,
a batting average .312, 256 homeruns, 1261 RBI’s
(runs batted in), Jeter is the all time current hit
leader and 9th overall. The Captain, as many refer
to him is only three hits away from Paul Molitor,
who has 3,319 hits. Although, we will miss him
when he retires, he is the greatest in my eyes.
Over Christmas break my brothers
moved into toddler beds...and as the
title of this article states, it was a
DISASTER! It all started one night
when Drew jumped out of his crib.
Harmless...right? No! When my mom put him back,
he jumped right out! A couple of weeks later when
Jack woke up from his nap I went to go get him. I
happened to be face timing my BFF, Emma. I turned
the camera around to show her Jack, and HE jumped
out of his crib! Emma and I started hysterically
laughing because it was so funny! A few days after
that, we couldn’t take the jumping anymore, so we
moved them into toddler beds. That made things
even worse! The beds had guardrails so they wouldn’t fall out...well they just jumped over them! My
brothers are fine with the toddler beds now, but
getting used to them is another story!
CONGRATULATIONS
To Rockin’ Eagle Staffers,
JAIME AND SOPHIE
For earning the CT Association of
Schools, ART award!
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
Above: Drawing by Kylie, grade 4
The K Kids will be
collecting “Pennies for
Patients” in February.
Thank you in advance
for your consideration in
contributing!
(ABOVE) Niels Giffey visits Rock Hill. Seen here
with Macy and Kayce. *Story on Sports Page.*
3
News Around the Rock
The Second Fifth Grade Book Night
Challenge is at the end of February.
Read about who won in our next
issue.
(At Right) Read articles by Audrey to
catch up on news around the school.
Fifth Graders Visit Peabody Museum
By Audrey, grade 5
Pennies for Patients
By Jaime, grade 5
Who knew that something as small as a penny
could change or even save someone’s life? You
can make that happen! Pennies for Patients is a
great program that collects change to raise
money for cancers such as Leukemia and Lymphoma. You will be able to donate from February 3rd thru February 21st. The K Kids will be
around the classrooms to collect donations.
Thank you for so much for helping change people’s lives!
Boxes of Hope
By Vivian, grade 3
Every year B Pod creates “boxes of hope”.
These boxes are gifts that are made for a
classmate. First the box needs to be decorated. Then you write a poem and a letter, make a
present, and draw a picture. You place all of
these things in the box, and give it to your
“hope” buddy.
In January the fifth grade classes took a trip to the Peabody Museum and planetarium to learn all about science.
The fifth grade was buzzing with excitement with the
news of this exciting trip to the Peabody Museum. The
museum’s many rooms are filled with Egyptian treasures,
dinosaurs, and remarkable animals. They also have an exhibit called “wonders of weather” and different hands-on
activities. The Peabody Museum is wonderful place that is
teaching kids exciting new science. Each group got to go
to a class on the human eye and light. It was really a remarkable field trip. The planetarium was also fun. We got
to listen to shows and learn so much about the universe.
The Peabody Museum is truly amazing.
Great Job!
Thank you to Macy, Ryan, and Kayce
for being our staff photographers!
Many of the pictures you see throughout the paper are from our meetings!
At Left: Vivian shares a project that she
made at home. Super work!
Eli Whitney Visits Rock Hill
By Audrey, grade 5
This year Eli Whitney visited Rock Hill school.
Each grade level got to build something exquisite. The fifth-graders got to build a model of
our solar system. Fourth-graders got to build a
light-up house and third-graders got to build
spinning tops. Eli Whitney’s staff helped students learn how to build, and taught them cool
facts about their projects. Eli Whitney truly
did an amazing job. The fifth-graders got to
learn how to make an eclipse on their model and
the color and features of each planet. Fourthgraders got to learn about electrical circuits
and third-graders learned about the spinning
tops and why they stay spinning. Eli Whitney is
really a great way to learn.
At Left: Drawing by Sophie, grade 5
4
In The Spotlight
Talking Math and More with Mrs. Madancy
Mrs. Madancy, our district’s Math Resource Teacher, recently sat down with members of the
newspaper for an interview.
Is there a process to coming up with the curriculum? Yes, it’s a big process. First we take the standards that our
state adopted for us, the CT Core Standards. We look at each grade level and split those standards into
units. From there, we unwrap the standards and decide what skills the students need to learn and try to figure out
to teach them best.
Is there a grade that you think math is most important? I think that they are all important. Math is a subject
where you need to have the knowledge from the previous grade to understand the next.
Is there a grade that you think math is more difficult than other grades? Every grade has its’ own challeng-
es. Math is a big puzzle that just needs to be broken down to make sense. High school math can get quite
challenging.
What math topic do you think most elementary students struggle with? For grades 3-5, I would say fractions be-
cause they are a difficult concept to understand.
Who inspired you to become a teacher? My third grade teacher, Mrs. Troccollo, at Moses Y. Beach started I
inspiring me with multiplication. I loved it and thought it was so cool! She was my inspiration to start teaching. However, I come from a family of teachers. My parents are both teachers. My husband was a teacher and
now a principal and my two sisters and brother are also teachers.
Why did you decide to work on curriculum? I love working on curriculum. Math can be challenging and I think that
it is fun finding interesting ways to teach it.
If you had to pick one, what would your favorite course to teach be? I would have to say Statistics.
Other than math, what do you like to do in your free time? My daughters keep me very busy with their
sports. We also have a big family that gets together a lot. I really enjoy watching sports, too, either on TV or
watching my kids’ sports. Of course there’s always MATH!
What math class did you find most challenging when you were in school? Probably my hardest class at Lyman Hall
was Pre Calculus. I didn’t understand it at first. I had to work really hard at it. I stayed after school with my
teachers to make sure I knew what was going on. Once it clicked and I figured it out, it all came together.
Do you have any tricks for remembering our multiplication facts? I always use 10 to help me remember my
multiplication facts. An example would be 9x7...I think that 10x7 is 70 and then I subtract 7 to get 63. If it’s a
lower number, I use my 5 facts to help remember.
If you had to choose, who is your favorite Red Sox player? Do I have to choose? You must know I’m not a big Red
Sox fan...actually not at all. If I had to choose I would pick Ted Williams
Who is your favorite Yankee player? There are so many! When I was your age my favorite player was Dave Win-
field. Later on when they won World Series in the late 90’s I liked Paul O’Neil and Bernie Williams. It was also
fun watching Mariano play his last season. Derek Jeter is one of my all time favorites. I have a lot of Yankee
players that I like...it’s much harder coming up with a Red Sox player.
What is your favorite meal to cook?
made ravioli.
I come from a very big Italian family and love to cook. I really like home-
Do you have a favorite lesson that you taught in high school? One of my favorites was in Statistics when we looked
at different types of probability, probably because my students loved the lesson. We would look at the probability
of M&M’s...we would buy all different sized packages of them and look at Theoretical Probability and Experimental
Probability. It would be a nice introduction to probability. We would look at the different colors of M&M’s. The
kids got to eat them after the lesson which they always liked.
What advice would you give to someone that is struggling with math? The most important thing is to get your foun-
dation. Think of a house...the foundation is what holds it up. It’s the same in Math. You have to really know your
facts. Once you have those down solid, everything else makes sense.
Do you have any advice for what elementary students should work on during the summer? To keep up on your math
facts and it’s always good to think about problem solving. There’s a website that I like for that which is called
Bedtime Math. It has a short story and then they give you a math problem.
Do you know of any board games that you really like that have to do with math ? I used to love to play Memory,
which isn’t really math but it’s good for practice remembering things. There’s another game that I have on my IPad
called Kakooma. It’s a lot of fun.
What was your favorite fact fluency quiz to take growing up? (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) I would
have to say multiplication because my favorite teacher, Mrs. Troccollo, taught it to me.
What’s your favorite part of your job? It’s really when I get to go into classrooms and see exciting math lessons
and work with students. I don’t get to do that very often, but it’s really fun for me.
What’s your favorite sport? Definitely basketball!
5
At left: Mrs. Madancy with her
daughters Kayce, Ellie, and Dori.
Above: Mrs. Madancy with her
daughter Kayce, and Macy. She
coaches both in basketball.
A Furry Friend
By Callie, grade 3
I have a furry friend! Guess who he is? Come on, guess! Okay, I’ll tell you! He’s a horse named Trigger.
When I was in 1st grade I met Trigger for the first time. Most people are scared the first time they
meet a horse because it can be a little scary to see such a big animal, but I was fine with Trigger. He is my
friend Olivia’s horse, so she let me ride Trigger all around a fenced area. I even went over some low jumps.
After riding Trigger I watched Olivia clean him. She had to brush his fur with a big round brush. Lastly, Olivia
cleaned Trigger by spraying him down with a hose. After all that work, Trigger went out in the field and rolled
around in a mud patch. This experience was so much fun I ended up loving horses. Since then, I have had a
horse birthday party, visited a horse ranch called Rockin’ Horse Ranch and now I am signed up to take riding
lessons.
Recently, I saw Olivia again and she told me Trigger was not feeling well, which made me very sad. The
good news is Trigger is healing in the barn. At least he is
going to get better. We all have our ups and downs in life
just like Trigger. He is a great furry friend. Have you
ever had a furry friend?
Here’s Trigger!
At Left: Drawing by Macy, grade 4
6
In The Spotlight
Meet Town Councilman Sullivan
By Riley and Jaime, grade 5
How did you feel when you saw the numbers come in on Election Day? I was very excited because the
numbers are a reflection for the candidates on how much the people trust them to run the government. So I was very excited with the votes that I received on Election Day.
What are you doing to prepare for the first meeting? Well you just witnessed the first meeting, which
is the swearing in. The next meeting what normally happens is that we get an agenda the week before
the meeting, which tells us what the topics are and things to discuss. We will do some research and will
come prepared to discuss those items and make decisions based on that information. We ALWAYS make
decisions on what’s best for the town and the people of the town.
How long on average do the meetings last? They can run anywhere from an hour up to four hours.
Why do you want to be on the Town Council? I want to be on the Town Council because I always thought
it is such a great honor to serve people and help people. Serving the people of Wallingford is probably
the greatest honor anyone could ever have. I’m only one of nine people that have been elected to serve
over 45,000 people. Not just voters, but children like you. We make decisions on your school, your
town, your taxes, the roads...we make decisions on just about everything that happens in town. It is a
very important position and I am very proud to be a Town Councilor. I love reading the Rockin’ Eagle. It
is my favorite newspaper!
Above: Riley and Jaime interviewing Town Councilman Sullivan at a Council meeting
Rockin’ Eagle Staffers take a
picture with Mrs. Madancy after
the interview.
7
In The Spotlight
Talking with Pat DeMaio
By Nick, grade 5
Pat DeMaio was a minor league pitcher for the Red Sox AA Affiliate in the early 60’s. He
was a very good pitcher, having multiple “no hitters” and a ton of “one hitters”. His career
was cut short due to a “dead arm”. During the interview he showed me a picture of him
standing with Ted Williams! Before pitching for the Red Sox Organization, Pat played for
Quinnipiac. He was the first baseball player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame there.
Read on to find out more about Pat...
In the minor league, where did you pitch in the rotation? I was the number one
pitcher in the rotation.
Was there a specific reason that you didn’t get the call to the majors? I pitched so much that it
hurt my arm.
How far up in the Red Sox Farm System did you get? In those days they had a D, C, B, A, Double
A, and Triple A, before the majors...I got all the way to Double A.
What season do you think was your best? My best season professionally, was in 1962 with the Red
Sox. That same year Bill Monbouquette had 16 wins in the majors.
I know for college you went to Quinnipiac, what other colleges were you considering? I had a full
scholarship to University of Miami but decided on Quinnipiac because I wanted to stay local.
What was your best pitch? My curve ball was probably my best. I had a very good one. Other
pitches that I threw were two different speeds of a fastball, a moving fastball, and a slider.
How fast was your fastest pitch? In those days they didn’t clock the speed...if I had to guess I
would say it was in the upper 90’s.
What number did you wear? My number was 9...I had the same number as Ted Williams.
Notes of interest from the interview: In 1963-64 Pat played with many of the players that went on
to win the 67 World Series with the Red Sox. His roommate was Jim Lonbord. He was a Cy Young
Award Winner. He also played with Rico Petrocelli, Mike Andrews, George Scott...He took his kids
to see the Red Sox at Fenway during batting practice. The whole team came to greet them, including Carl Yastrzemski. They got to see the locker room, too. This was a great memory for Pat.
THANK YOU to Mrs. DiBenedetto’s and Ms. Gallagher’s Third Grade
Classes for their generosity in order to fill this backpack with books and
school supplies! The “stuffed” backpack was donated to The Sisters’
Society for their recent fundraiser.
8
In The Spotlight
Meet Mrs. Valentine
By Paige, Gianna, Mitchell, and Wylie, grade 4
What states have you lived in? I was born in New York. I lived there as well as New Jersey, I have
also lived in Kansas and now I love living in Connecticut.
What made you to decide to become a teacher? That’s an interesting question because I wasn’t always a
teacher. I worked for L’Oreal in New York as a district sales manager for almost 13 years. But I have
always wanted to be a teacher. About twelve years ago I went back to school to study Education. I
worked as a para professional for three years while I was in school. Then I started teaching five years
ago.
What do you like to do in your free time? I have four kids and three of them live at home. So in my
free time I love to spend time with my family. My husband and I are best friends. He is a pastor so
we spend time helping people in our Church. I have one daughter who is a teacher so she and I do some
planning together, I have one daughter who is in school studying to be a teacher. I also love to spend
time with my youngest daughter Grace, who is twelve. We watch movies and do a lot of cooking and
baking together. We also like to garden together. I like to grow flowers and Grace likes to grow vegetables.
What is your favorite place to visit? My favorite place to visit is Vietnam. I have only been there once
but I love that country. It’s warm and tropical. All of the people there are super friendly! My youngest daughter was adopted from Vietnam so we love to learn about the culture of that country.
If there was one place that you could visit, where would you go? I would love to go to Italy. It is one
of the many countries that I really want to visit.
What is your favorite book? My favorite book is Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. I love it
because I have seen so many students fall in love with that book over the years.
I love that our classroom is like a community. I think
that when I have rewards to work towards for the end of the week, it helps make our community stronger, like when we have lunch in the classroom and play games. It also allows me more time to teach because my students are so focused and want to do well. I love it when my class “wins” at the end of the
week and we get to have lunch in the classroom and have games, I think that it is so much fun. It’s
great to see kids learning to play Chess and other games that they didn’t know how to play before. I
think that it is pretty exciting. I love to use rewards because I think that it is positive for everyone.
Tell us why you decided to have a class reward.
What is your favorite subject to teach? My favorite is writing because I love to write and I have a
passion for it. I love when kids fall in love with writing and publish great stories. I really enjoy Writing Share Celebrations. I look forward them because we can share our writing with our families and others in the community.
Above: Mrs. Valentine with Gianna, Mitchell, Paige,
and Wylie
At Right: Drawing by Ally, grade 4
9
In The Spotlight
An interview with Katie
By Steven, grade 5
Calling all 5th graders! My sister, Katie Broun, has been
through the switch of schools from 5th grade to 6th
grade. Here are her thoughts and ideas about this topic!
S: Is there anything that fifth graders should be
nervous about when we switch from Rock Hill to Dag?
K: In my opinion, there is nothing to be nervous
about. All you need to do is be prepared for the
changes in homework and the changes in the environment that you will be in, and you will be ready for 6th
grade.
S: Speaking of homework, how much homework will the
new sixth graders get?
K: Around 20 minutes a night per subject. Your teachers might also give you projects, but all of this depends on which teacher you get!
S: What is similar at Rock Hill and at Dag?
This is a picture of me with my sister,
Katie
K: All of your friends at Rock Hill will still be at Dag,
but also Pond Hill students will be at Dag. Also, the
teachers will always be helpful in any way they can.
S: What are some of the differences between R.H. and Dag?
K: You will have 2 specials every day, but these specials will switch every quarter. Also, you switch
classrooms for your different subjects and you have 6 academic teachers. You have to wear different clothing for gym. In addition, you will have up to 3 lockers. One for school, one for gym, and one
for instrumental students. You will have a large amount of books to fill your school locker.
So there you have it! There is nothing for a new 6th grader to worry about! Signing off!
A Trip to Rocking Horse Ranch
By Callie and Isabella, grade 3
Go to the Rocking Horse Ranch...it’s a blast! It’s located in Upstate New York. The ranch is open all
year round. We both went there. I (Callie) went with my family in the Fall. It was great! There were so
many things to do! I got to ride horses, go to the Fall Festival, visit the fun barn, go paddle boating, and
swim in the indoor pool.
I (Isabella) visited the ranch with my family in the winter. I also went horseback riding. One time while
I was on a horse it started raining and I got soaked! I also went snow tubing and I got to try skiing for the
first time. I turned out to be pretty good at it. Like Callie, I went in the indoor pool and visited the fun
barn. Plus I got to see a few shows.
We hoped you enjoyed reading about our good times at the Rocking Horse Ranch!
At Left: Callie at The
Rocking Horse Ranch
At Right: Isabella at The
Rocking Horse Ranch
10
In The Spotlight
A Big Journey
By Callie, grade 3
This is an interview with my grandpa because he is taking a long trip across the country!
So why are you going on this trip? To see the natural beauties of this country.
Where are you going on your trip? I am going to Montana, Yellow Stone Park, Texas, Arkansas, Pan-
handle, Florida, Washington D.C, and back home.
Well, that’s a lot of places you are going to visit. But how are you going to travel? I am going to travel
in a camper.
Are you going to pack up your camper before you go on your long journey? Yes...I’m cleaning my
camper, put in a TV, and also I’m getting all the supplies I need.
Now here’s one more question I want to ask and here it is. After you go on this trip do you plan going
on other trips? I’m not sure maybe...maybe not.
Well thanks for talking to me, Poppy I hope you have a nice trip! Be safe!
This is a picture of the camper he is going to travel in.
Eagle Staffers at a
Newspaper Club
meeting
11
In The Spotlight
Talking with Niels Giffey
By Macy and Kayce, along with their classmates, grade 4
How old were you when you started playing? I started playing when I was about 8 years old in sec-
ond grade.
What is your favorite…
Color? Blue
Food? Sushi
Movie? Catch Me If You Can
NBA Player? Steve Nash Team? New York Knicks
What do you play to do when you graduate? I really want to play professionally.
What advice would you offer a kids’ basketball team? To have fun, play as a team, and remember
to do your schoolwork.
Who would you consider UCONN’s biggest rival? Syracuse
What are you studying in school? Economics
What was the most exciting game you played so far? I would say that the National Championships
was the most exciting game I’ve played so far.
Which of your teammates are your closest friends off the court? Tyler, Shabazz, and Leon
Why did you choose UCONN? I had an opportunity to go pro after high school in Germany. But
UCONN gave me the opportunity to go to school and play in college.
Thank you Niels for taking time from school and basketball to talk with Mrs. Carignan’s class…
GO UCONN!
Above: Newspaper Staff from Mrs. Carignan’s
class (Kylie, Macy, Ryan, Kayce, and Valerie)
with Niels
At Right: Niels talking to class
12
Sports
Carmelo Anthony’s Career High
By Jack, grade 4
One of my favorite basketball players is Carmelo Anthony, #7. He plays for the New York Knicks NBA Team.
He is a phenomenal player; specifically he is a great shooter. He had his all time career high against the Charlotte Bobcats recently. Carmelo scored 62 points in one game!
The NYY played the Bobcats, who have some really great players like Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist,
Cody Zeller, and Al Jefferson. However, in this game, their best point guard, Walker, was not playing. The NYY
also have good players such as J. R. Smith, Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Tyson Chandler, and Amar’e
Stoudemire. These are my favorite NYY players.
Carmelo not only had his career high for points, but also beat the Knicks overall record for most points
scored in a game. He also beat the record for the most points scored at Madison Square Garden in an NBA
game. This is an incredible achievement for Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony shot 23 for 35 from the floor, 6 for 11 from beyond the arc, and 10 for 10 at the free throw line in
39 minutes. Carmelo’s best shot was when he got the ball with 3 seconds left in the first half. He shot the ball
at the buzzer and made the basket from half court. It was an unbelievable shot; you can check it out on the
internet to see for yourself.
The NYY head coach, Mike Woodson, took Anthony out of the game with about 7 minutes remaining. He did
play the entire first three quarters, so I am sure he was tired by that time. LeBron James of the Miami Heat
told the head coach, “Mike, you should have not taken Melo out of the game...he was on fire.” I agree with LeBron that Coach Woodson should have kept Anthony in.
I hope that one day Carmelo might do this again and beat his own record next time. I will never forget what
a great game this was to watch and also get to see my favorite player, Carmelo Anthony, have his all time career
high in points for a basketball game.
First Meet Fun
Coach Eco
By Nathaniel, grade 3
By Kayce, grade 4
I walked into the gym, filled with confidence. I put
my bag in the line and started stretching on the
strip. After about 20 minutes, we started group
stretching. Chris and Eric (our coaches) still weren’t
there! I started to lose my confidence. Then after
15 minutes, they finally appeared. We started warming up on our own now. I did handstands, stretches,
etc...Soon we went to our first worm up event—
parallel bars. After that, we warmed up all our other
events and then it was time to compete. This wasn’t
as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. After
competing, I thought about my scores. I did pretty
well. But I had no time to rest, because soon it was
time for awards. When all of the teams sat down, we
were by far the biggest. I came in third for a lot of
events. Then came all arounds. This was the second
best part. I came in second place all around! Finally,
it was team awards time. THIS was the best part!
We came in FIRST! As we finally left, I thought to
myself, “this was a good first meet!”
Nick Economopoulos knows basketball. Eco has played
and coaches the sport. Nick started off as a player in
Long Island, NY, in a recreational league as well as playing for his church. He also played in high school, but got
cut from the team his senior year. Other sports he
played were football and baseball.
After high school, he went to college and met his
wife, Sue. They had three daughters and one son. Nick
had always wanted to be a football and baseball
coach. However, after having three daughters, none of
which liked softball as much as they liked basketball, he
decided to focus on basketball. Eco has high school
girls’ basketball, and coaches an AAU team. His high
school record is 605+ wins and around 100 losses...that’s
pretty good! Coach Eco will continue his success as he
now coaches Coginchaug High School. These “Eagles” will
be watching those ”Devils” closely!
Basketball
by Travis, grade 3
I am playing basketball in the winter. I am really good at
shooting, passing, and dribbling. We played 3 or 4 games
already. I have a really good team. I think that we won
most of the games. We are the color maroon. I am number 9 on my team. Sometimes I think that all that we do
is run around on the court. It is tiring! If you play,
bring a water!
Above: Isabella skiing at The Rocking Horse Ranch.
Read article by Isabella and Callie on page 9
Drawing by Valerie, grade 4
13
Creativity At Work
Drawing by Audrey, grade 5
“Faces in the Crowd”
Drawing by Rachel, grade 4
Drawing by Audrey, grade 5
14
New Year’s Resolution From Teachers and Eagle
Staffers
Mrs. Carignan - to be better organized in my kitchen
Mrs. Macunas - to eat healthier and exercise more
Mrs. Mather - to live in the moment
Mrs. DiBenedetto - to eat healthy and exercise more
Mrs. Hurst - to think positively and spend more quality time with my family
Ms. Fallahi - to eat more fruits and vegetables and to spend 30 minutes a day reading a Spanish novel
Ms. Gallagher - to become more organized
Mrs. Valentine - to become more fluent in speaking Spanish
Travis - to continue to work hard in school
Gavin - not to play on the IPad as much
Jack - to have better ball handling skills in basketball
Steven - to go to age groups for 50 Breaststroke
Jaime - to continue to improve on the violin
Valerie - to become a better dancer
Julia - to get good grades
Ally– to not let my dog nip at my nose
Rachel - To play video games
Wylie - to get better at spelling
Gianna - to work on my math skills
Andrew - to work on my reading skills
Rylie - to start a collection of sport sweatshirts
Audrey - to work hard to get my red belt in karate
Emilia - to become a better soccer player
Jarred - to hit 300 or better in baseball
Nathaniel - to get more healthy
Isabella - to become a better reader
Paige W. - To finish the Harry Potter Series
Kylie - To finish the Nutmeg Passport